


Ashes

by 0bviousLeigh



Series: Yuma is a Girl [29]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: 69 jokes, Card Games, Gender or Sex Swap, Labyrinth References, Other, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2019-01-31 22:12:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12691209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bviousLeigh/pseuds/0bviousLeigh
Summary: Yuma hears the crowd screaming as though she’s deep underwater. For the moment, all she can hear is the pounding of her own heartbeat and the blood rushing through her veins. Her footsteps seem to pound out a chant. Hart, Kite, Rio, over and over until she’s on the platform and facing the gremlin himself.





	Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> The most dramatic duel of them all - Yuma versus Tron.

Before Yuma walks out onto the field, she turns to Astral. “Are you ready for this?”

Astral floats down to her eye level. “I am with you every step of the way.”

Yuma takes his hands and smiles. “If someone is watching me, this is about to look really weird.”

Astral chuckles. “You’re not one to care.”

“True,” Yuma agrees, and she kisses him. As much as she wants to stand there all day and just continue kissing her invisible boyfriend, she does have souls to liberate, so she reluctantly backs away from Astral and continues out onto the field.

Yuma hears the crowd screaming as though she’s deep underwater. For the moment, all she can hear is the pounding of her own heartbeat and the blood rushing through her veins. Her footsteps seem to pound out a chant. Hart, Kite, Rio, over and over until she’s on the platform and facing the gremlin himself. She would be a fool to have no fear at all, but the feeling that overwhelms her is disdain. She tries to think of Tron as a thing stuck to the bottom of her shoe, rather than a soulless monster that she hates with every cell in her body. That last part is more true than the first, but she’s trying very, very hard not to duel with hatred in her heart.

“We have prepared a special field!” Mr. Heartland screams, and Yuma is jolted from her thoughts. Things that look like goddamn missile-launchers emerge from the ground and point up. Golden light shoots from them, and the light forms a circle which grows, and grows, until it’s large enough to envelop nearly the whole platform.

“Am I supposed to go in that?” Yuma asks. She turns to face Heartland. “I DIDN’T SIGN A WAVER FOR THIS!” She screeches.

“Fear not!” Heartland announces, “For this technology is perfectly safe and meant only to provide a more entertaining duel for the audience.”

Yuma mutters, “Oh I’ll give you entertainment, you sick freak.” She doesn’t even care if her microphone picked up on that, it’s probably not even broadcasting at the moment. She touches the golden circle, and then cries out in shock as everything goes black…and then suddenly she’s inside the sphere.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Yuma screams, patting her head, torso, and legs. Her microphone certainly picked up on that, and now she _really_ doesn’t care. There doesn’t seem to be any gravity in this sphere, and she’s soon floating upside down.

“You seemed to disintegrate and then reform,” Astral tells her, “Like Tron and the three brothers did when they vanished.”

“Did that happen to you?!” She demands.

“No, I passed through with ease,” Astral says.

“This must some other dimension BS,” Yuma says as she manages to float herself right-side up.

“Congratulations, Yuma,” Tron calls.

Yuma turns to the gremlin. “For what, exactly?” She asks.

“Making it this far,” Tron says. “But then, I’m not surprised. You are Kazuma’s daughter, after all. He used to say that in life, all one needed was family, friends, and a ceaseless desire. I came to realize family and friends were nothing, but ceaseless desire…that was what kept me alive in the parallel world. My desire for revenge allowed me to come back, and now that I face you and the messenger from Astral world, I am so close.” Tron grins. “But I wonder, why are you so against me? Don’t you want revenge against Dr. Faker for what he did, taking your father away?”

“First of all—fuck you,” Yuma says. “I’m my own person before I’m Kazuma’s daughter. Second of all, don’t twist my father’s words. Third of all, my father wouldn’t want me to become anything like what you are, so no, I’m not dueling for revenge.”

“Really?” Tron asks. “Your father doesn’t want revenge? Then why did he send Astral here?”

Yuma blinks at Tron. “I beg your pardon?” She asks.

“The numbers contain great and terrible power that could destroy the world,” Tron says. “Isn’t that why Astral is here? To collect Numbers? Why would Kazuma send something like Astral here with that power?”

“What makes you think my dad sent Astral?” Yuma demands, then she holds up her hand. “No, shut up, I don’t want your opinion. Besides, Astral doesn’t know what he came here for, which means he can do whatever he damn well pleases.” She turns to Astral. “Right, babe?”

“Right, Yuma,” Astral says, smiling at her.

Of course, the sphere comes with a rule change, one that makes it easier to summon Numbers, as many Numbers as one can. Yuma wonders how the audience is reacting to all of this, if any of them have begun to question just what the Numbers are. But she can’t think about that, she’s got to focus on what’s in front of her.

The duel quickly becomes a battle of Numbers. Though Tron plays a weak one in his first turn, when his second turn comes around, he takes a chunk out of Yuma’s life points. It’s trippy, getting blown back against the sphere’s walls and then bounced back. Yuma’s going to puke if this whole zero gravity thing keeps up.

But on her next turn, Yuma summons Numbers 34, 17, and 39. She has three Numbers now, just like Tron. And she takes out all three of his numbers. His field is wide open, and Yuma has the advantage. With nothing else she can do, she ends her turn. Of course, she knows Tron is prepared for this.

After summoning three monsters to his field and changing their levels, Tron announces and Xyz summon. “Allow me to show you my true trump card,” he says with a smile. “Come forth, Numbers 69, God Medallion Coat of Arms!”

Yuma’s jaw drops. Did he say…did he actually say what she thinks he said?

Astral gasps, “This is the monster that fuels Tron’s revenge.”

Yuma snaps her jaw shut. She feels like she’s about to burst.

“Ugh,” Tron says, “It hurts…but I suppose it doesn’t matter. After this, everything will be gone. I suppose I can show you my true face. You’re in for a real treat, you two!”

Tron removes his mask, and Yuma knows she ought to be terrified by the gaping hole in his face surrounded by…galaxy print…but honestly, she’s still staring at the Number.

“All I have left,” Tron says, “Is my heart filled with rage, and this Number. I’ve put everything I have into Numbers 69…”

Yuma is sure he’s about to deliver quite the speech, but goddamn it, she can’t hold back anymore. The laughter bursts forth and she’s gone, she’s full-blown hysterical.

From across the field, Tron stares at her. “What…?”

Yuma clutches her sides. She’s floating upside down again and she can’t even right herself because she’s laughing so hard. “It’s…it’s sixty nine!” She screams, “It’s finally here, oh my god I can’t believe it!” She points at Tron and shrieks, “AND YOU LOOK LIKE A LITTLE KID!” She hoots, “Does your mother know what you’re getting up to in your free time young man?!” She’s crying, she’s probably drooling, she knows she looks like an idiot and maybe, just maybe, she’s finally cracked. But if this is how she cracks, she’s okay with that. This is hilarious. She hopes her friends are enjoying this as much as she is.

 

* * *

 

“What the hell?” Takashi asks as Ryoga clutches the chair in front of him, laughing almost as hard as Yuma is.

“He’s—he looks like a kid!” Ryoga gasps. “Oh god, this is just too great!”

“Oh yeah, you and Yuma missed Kite’s duel, didn’t you?” Tetsuo asks.

“Wait,” Ryoga cries, “He used it against Kite?! Did he laugh?”

“No,” Cathy says.

“CAN IT BE HE DOESN’T KNOW?!” Ryoga shrieks, and this time he falls to the floor he’s laughing so hard.

“People are staring,” Tokunosuke whispers.

“Just what is so funny about the number 69?!” Kotori demands.

Ryoga sits up, a gleeful smile on his face. “Oh Kotori, you are too young to know.”

 

* * *

 

 

“WILL YOU SHUT UP?!” Tron screeches as Yuma continues to cackle. “I’ll show you! God Medallion can steal your monster’s effect and make them it’s own! Any monster, it’s useless against mine!”

Okay, that is pretty serious, but Yuma now has the hiccups from laughing, so as her monster’s effects are stolen she’s left bouncing around the field as her hiccups propel her.

“Oye,” she calls down to Tron, “If I puke in here, will your black-hole of an eye suck it in?”

Tron doesn’t answer her. He attacks Numbers 17, and Yuma is hit so hard that she slams into the sphere’s wall and skids across it. Ouch, that hurt.

“Are you okay?” Astral asks, sounding pained himself.

“Don’t you worry about me,” Yuma says as she rights herself. “I’ve had worse than this.”

“Oh, have you?” Tron asks with a giggle. “I doubt it. You should give up now, Yuma.”

“Why does everyone say that like they think I’ll listen?” Yuma mutters.

“Unlike my useless sons,” Tron continues, “I’m invincible. You could say that God of Arms represents the difference between parents and children. I’m stronger than they could ever be.”

“Oh yeah, you’re just like this card alright,” Yuma spits. “You’re a bully. You take, and take, and take. You leave everything and everyone around you drained of whatever made them good. Just as that creature took what made my monsters special, you took the best parts of your sons and left them dry, drained, and desolate shells. Oh wow, good alliteration, myself,” she says. “Point being, they went along with your deranged plans because all they wanted was their father back. Yet you still call them useless, you talk down their sacrifice.”

“You’re a child,” Tron spits, “What could you know?!”

“I know I would be thrilled if my dad came back to me!” Yuma cries. “But not like you! I told Michael, if my dad had ended up like you, I would be horrified. I would have had him institutionalized, I would have given up on him. But truthfully, I don’t know what I would have done. It’s easy for me to say that now, looking at you and what a hideous _thing_ you are, but I wonder if your sons saw something good inside of you, something that made them love you in spite of what you’ve become.” Yuma feels tears sting her eyes, and she blinks them away. “If they did, then that makes them better people than I am. To me, you’re nothing. You’re worthless, an ugly monster. But if there’s something inside of you that’s even one percent human, well, I’ll do my best to revive that one percent if only to show the world that your sons didn’t sacrifice themselves for nothing. So no, I’m not giving up on this duel.”

Tron rolls his one eye. “Fine then, struggle pointlessly, it matters not. I end my turn.”

Yuma turns to Astral. “Babe, I think it’s time we show him our true power,” she says quietly.

Astral looks shocked. “I…is that wise? There are people watching, people who won’t know what they are seeing.”

Yuma grins and whispers, “Don’t worry, I have a plan.”

She throws out her arms and tips her head back. “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” She screams, “Are you enjoying the show?!” She hears cheers from the crowd, and continues, “Truly, my opponent and I have used this sphere field to give you a duel unlike anything you have ever seen! And now, just as Tron has used AR to change his appearance, I will use it to change mine!” She looks towards Astral. “I will show you the strength of my soul!”

She’s surrounded by red light, and she zips across the sphere. Astral is surrounded by blue light, and flings himself around the sphere alongside her. They collide, and Yuma closes her eyes as golden light explodes between her and Astral. She’s hot and cold, tired and wide awake, she’s scared but she’s never felt braver. Her body rips apart and comes back together, her blood and bones imbued with the power of two worlds.

Yuma opens her eyes. “Ta-da,” she says with a smile. “Call me Zexal.”

 

* * *

 

The crowd is beside themselves.

“Yuma turned into a super hero!” One observer says.

“What did she call herself?” Another asks.

“Zexal!” Kotori and Tetsuo scream, “She’s Zexal!”

The crowd begins to chant, “Zexal, Zexal, Zexal!”

Ryoga grins at the screens. “That’s our girl,” he says quietly.

 

* * *

 

“Here we go!” Yuma cries, “Chaos Xyz change! Come on out, Chaos Numbers 39, Hope Ray!”

“It doesn’t matter!” Tron yells, “I can still steal your monster’s effects!”

“I won’t let you!” Yuma vows.

“Yuma,” Astral says, “A true duelist can find their way out of any battle. With your power, you can draw the very card you need for victory!”

That sounds unbelievable, but everything Yuma has done lately is unbelievable, so she might as well give it a shot. She focuses all her thoughts on her deck, on finding a way out of Tron’s tricks. Golden light envelops her hand, and she draws.

“Hey, it worked!” She cries, jubilant.

And no matter what Tron tries, he can’t beat Yuma this turn, not when she has everything set up to help her avoid his tricks and traps. She equips Hope Ray with Zexal Weapon, since Coat of Arms can’t steal equip cards. Now Yuma has the stronger monster on the field. She sets a card and ends her turn.

Tron applauds. “I must say, I am impressed you got this far. But you’ve played your ultimate hand, and that means you have nothing left! I’ll finish you right here, right now!” He attacks, using Hope Ray’s effect against Yuma, but she plays a trap that allows her to avoid totally damage, though she’s left with only 50 life points. Tron then restores two overlay units to Coat of Arms, meaning the monster won’t be destroyed due a technicality. He sets a card and ends his turn.

Yuma’s stomach churns. “Oh no,” she whimpers.

“Yuma, what’s wrong?!” Astral asks frantically.

Yuma doubles over, groaning. “Oh man, oh man,” she whimpers. Her stomach lurches, she straightens up and…lets out the loudest burp of her life.

“Oh, god,” Yuma says, shocked. “Excuse me! Wow, here I thought I was gonna puke!” But of course, now she’s realizing just how hungry she is. She pats her chest, did they carry over to her Zexal transformation…yes!

“Wow, Tron, you really have me cornered,” Yuma says as she unwraps the rice balls.

“How can you even think of eating at a time like this?!” Astral demands.

“Hey, I’m a girl,” Yuma says. She covers her mic and adds, “Even though I currently have boy parts.” She uncovers the mic and takes a bite out of one of the rice balls. She grins at Tron. “Want some?” she asks, holding out the bitten rice ball. Tron doesn’t answer.

But Astral leans forward and takes a bite. “Oh!” he cries, holding a hand to his mouth, “It’s good!”

Yuma smiles at him. “You’ve never eaten before, have you?”

Astral shakes his head. “I never felt the need. But it’s…rather enjoyable!”

Yuma laughs. “Oh boy, we should go for barbecue after this! And then we should have sushi, and ramen…”

“And hamburgers!” Astral cries. “Yuma, I want to try everything!”

“You got it!” Yuma says. She finishes up the rice balls and dusts off her hands. “Now, it’s my turn!”

And she equips Hope Ray with a second weapon, powers up its attack and it all set to destroy Coat of arms, but Tron isn’t out of tricks yet. He sends both weapons back to Yuma’s hand.

“There’s nothing you can do to stop me!” Tron screams, “Your attacks are—”

Yuma blows a raspberry into her arm.

Tron snarls, “Your attacks are—”

Yuma blows another raspberry into her arm.

“USELESS!” Tron screams.

“YOU REMIND ME OF THE BABE!” Yuma screams back.

And from the crowd, she distinctly hear a call back.

“WHAT BABE?!”

“THE BABE WITH THE POWER!”

“WHAT POWER?!”

Yuma grins. Time to change it up—“THE POWER OF ZEXAL!”

She summons back to the field Hope Ray’s giant-ass swords, and she overlays them to summon one even more giant-ass sword. She creates a new monster, Lion Arms, one with an effect that allows her to attack even though her battle phase is over.

“But I can use Coat of Arms effect to destroy one monster per turn!” Tron shouts, “I can destroy Lion Arms!”

“Ehhh, wrong!” Yuma says, “I have an effect too! And it negates yours and cuts your monster’s attack points in half!”

And finally, finally, finally…her attack lands. Number 69 is destroyed, and Tron’s life points drop to zero.

There’s a beat of silence, then Yuma hears Kotori and Ryoga scream together, “YUMA WINS!”

The crowd screams Yuma’s name. She covers her face, her heart soaring. She’s done it, she’s really done, she beat Tron!

But the victory is short lived. Yuma’s chest contracts, and golden light flies from it. It’s the Numbers, they’re being ripped away from her! And across the field, the same is happening to Tron!

Yuma, still in her Zexal form, is able to call forth the sword form of Lion Arms. She propels herself across the field, grabs Tron’s arm, and flings the sword into the sphere field. Rather than break the field to pieces, the sword sticks into it. Oh well, at least now Yuma can stand up to the sudden wind that threatens to suck her into a swirling ball of orange light.

“That can’t be good,” Yuma says, looking up at the light.

“The field has taken the numbers,” Tron says. “This is why Dr. Faker did all of this. He has all the Numbers. Yuma, let go of me, or you’ll get sucked into the field, too.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Yuma snaps, “I’m not letting you go, you have to answer for all the shit you’ve done! I’m taking your ass to court, Tron!”

Tron laughs—an actual, genuine laugh. Yuma gapes at him.

“Yuma…” Tron says, his voice barely above a whisper, “You are unlike anyone I’ve ever met. I may not understand you, but I know that if anyone can take on Dr. Faker, it’s you. I’ll do something for you, child. I’ll release all the souls I’ve stolen.”

Lights burst forth from Tron’s chest and fly free from the sphere. Yuma watches them go.

“Kite, Hart, Rio and my sons, Droite, and all the others,” Tron says, “They’re all free.”

Yuma stares down at Tron. “And I thank you for that, but you’re not off the hook.” The sword slips.

“I can’t take you down with me,” Tron says. “Please, find a way to right the wrongs Faker has done.”

Tron breaks his hand free of Yuma’s grip. In a flash, he’s sucked into the light and vanishes.

Yuma screams, but before she can do anything, she feels herself being ripped apart once more. Her vision whites out, and when she’s able to see again, she’s still within the sphere field, and Dr. Faker stands in front of her.

“Now then,” Dr. Faker says. “Yuma, Astral, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. The pieces have all been gathered, and my ultimate goal is at hand. It’s time to begin the destruction of Astral world!”

Yuma straightens up and clutches her head. She squints at Dr. Faker.

“Man,” she says, “You are one ugly motherfucker.”

Dr. Faker stares at her blankly.

“I mean, my god,” Yuma says. “Are you sure two adorable kids like Kite and Hart are your sons? Was their mother a goddess for them to look as good they do? Or are they gonna look like you when they get older? Because in that case, it’s a good think I’m refusing to get involved with Kite romantically…”

“Will you shut up?!” Dr. Faker screams.

“What? Am I wrong?” Yuma asks Astral innocently.

“You’re not,” Astral says. “Thank god you have excellent taste in boyfriends.”

Yuma laughs, “You ready for this, boyfriend?”

“Ready, babe,” Astral answers.

 

* * *

 

 

Ryoga and Kotori exit the duel stadium and take off running in the direction that the saw the sphere go. Ryoga’s phone rings, and he answers it.

“Yuma is that you?!” He asks. “What? Oh, wait, is she—” He stops abruptly and Kotori almost slams into him. She’s ready to scream until she gets a look at his face.

“What, what is it?!” Kotori asks.

Ryoga gulps and hangs up the phone. “Rio’s doctor—he says her brain activity is increasing, and if it keeps up, she could be awake by tonight!”

**Author's Note:**

> "She throws out her arms and tips her head back. “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” She screams."
> 
> Somewhere in Arc-V verse, Yuya shivers.


End file.
